Captain Robert "Bob" Krieger-Owner/Elite Instructor

Bob started his underwater journey in 2003 while on a deployment to Okinawa, Japan. Due to the ensuing deployments, he was unable to pursue further diving experiences. He re-discovered his passion in 2017 and since then, has been diving as much as possible in the Carolinas, Florida, Jamaica, The Bahamas and other tropical locations. Upon retirement from the Marine Corps, he recruited his wife and children to become certified as well. Bob joined Carolina Beach Scuba April 2021 and has multiple instructor specialties to meet the needs of his clients. He bought Carolina Beach Scuba in November 2023.

Bob’s Instructor specialties are: (SDI) Open Water Instructor, Nitrox, Boat Diver, Deep Diver, Underwater Navigation, Night/Limited Visibility Diving, Rescue Diver, Wreck Diver, Search and Recovery, Advanced Buoyancy, Drift Diving, and Drysuit. (TDI) Intro to Tech and Sidemount. Scubility Diver Instructor. (First Response) CPR1st Instructor, CPROX1st AED Instructor, and Oxygen Administer Instructor

Captain David Smithey Godfather of CBS

David grew up in the Carolinas and spent most of his adult life in the Wilmington and Carolina Beach area. He is a military veteran and spent 31 years in law enforcement from which he has retired from at rank of Major.

He started diving in 1979 and holds many certification in scuba. His favorite way to spend time is diving with his family and friends or hovering over a 5lb flounder just before spearing it.

He obtained his U.S.C.G. license in 2008 and has worked on various dive boats include the Hawksbill, which he co-owned along with Cape Fear Dive Center.

 

Keith Jernigan-General Manager/Instructor

Keith moved to Wilmington in 2021 after retiring from a government career in Environmental Services. Growing up in Fayetteville NC, he spent his summers visiting the Wilmington area beaches and fell in love with the ocean. He found his way to scuba diving in 2019 and spends much of his free time exploring the many shipwrecks off North Carolina's coast. Keith joined Carolina Beach Scuba February 2022 and has multiple instructor specialties to meet the needs of his clients.

Keith’s Instructor specialties are: (SDI) Open Water Instructor, Nitrox, Boat Diver, Deep Diver, Night/Limited Visibility Diving, Rescue Diver, Wreck Diver, and Advance Buoyancy.

 

Mike Cleary- Course Director Instructor Trainer

Mike has been an active diver for 35 years; the water has become Mike’s place for relaxation, training, learning, and happiness. Mike lives in the Wilmington area and enjoys diving on our coast. He travels from North Carolina to other states frequently and internationally. Mike has a wide range of experience as a retired Airline pilot, fireman, dive shop owner, and instructor trainer. His involvement in the EMS and Fire gave him a golden opportunity to help with ERDI (Emergency Response Diving) instruction for several counties inside NC and outside. He has earned a BS in Finance and multiple Masters. He always loves sharing his knowledge, watching new divers learn, and seeing good divers become great instructors.
Mike’s Instructor specialties are: (TDI) Rebreather CM Air Diluent, Rebreather O2ptima CM Air Diluent Decompression, Cavern, Tec DPV, Intro to Tech IT, Advanced Nitrox IT, Decompression Procedures IT, , and Extended Range IT. (SDI) Course Director Instructor Trainer, Open Water Scuba Instructor Trainer, Course Director, Deep Diver IT, Nitrox IT, Full Face Mask IT, Solo Diving IT, Underwater Navigation Diving IT, DPV IT, Wreck Diver IT, and Air Fill Station Technician IT, O2 Clean Tech, Nitrox Blender, Advanced Gas Blender. Scubility Diver Instructor, (ERDI) ERD Instructor Trainer, ERD Full Face Mask OPS IT, and ERD Hull Searching OPS Instructor.
(First Response) First Response Training IT, CPROX IT, CPR1st IT, CPROX1st AED IT, and Oxygen Administrator IT

Roger Malone-Sales Asociate/Instructor

Roger began scuba diving in central North Carolina in 2014, and immediately caught the bug. From diving in the local quarry after school, to traveling to the Florida springs to cave dive, the water quickly became a second home. Now, Roger strives to train skilled and safety oriented divers by delivering high quality training and mentorship.
Roger’s Instructor Specialties are: (SDI) Open Water Instructor, Nitrox, Sidemount, Drysuit, Night and Limited Visibility, Search and Recovery, Underwater Navigation, Deep Diving. (FRTI) Adult and Child Emergency Care, Oxygen Administration (TDI) Nitrox

 

Cameron Hopper-Sales Asociate/Divemaster

Cameron grew up in rural Western Kansas, he spent a lot of summers boating on the lake but didn’t realize his love for the ocean until he started to dive. Cameron and his wife both became PADI certified divers in 2018 while on their honeymoon in Jamaica. Since becoming certified Cameron and his wife have taken dive trips to the Riviera Mya and Baja of Mexico, Curacao, Dominic Republic, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas. In 2023 Cameron and his wife moved from Kansas City to Wilmington to be closer to the ocean. Cameron earned his SDI Dive Master in 2024.

Garrett McMillian-Crew/Divemaster

Garrett developed an interest in underwater activities as a child, while seeking out hidden air pockets in the pool. He obtained his Open Water certification through NAUI while attending East Carolina University. Since then, he has earned several recreational and technical certifications while diving sites in Iceland, Malta, Mexico, California and Florida.
He joined CB Scuba as First Mate in 2018 and began teaching at the end of 2020. Garrett enjoys leading dive expeditions, photography, spear fishing, and just about anything that involves boating or the ocean. Other interests include shooting, physical fitness and martial arts. His hope is that his daughter will learn to enjoy scuba as much as he does.

 

 

Jordan Sears-Crew/Divemaster

Jordan joined Carolina Beach Scuba as a mate in 2022 and earned his SDI Divemaster certification in 2023. His favorite local dive sites are the meg ledges and any shipwreck with lionfish. An avid shark tooth collector, he'll gladly give pointers for finding big teeth on the way out to dive sites or help ID your finds throughout the day.
Jordan started diving in 2015 and has made dive trips to Belize, Costa Rica and the Bahamas. When conditions aren't right for diving, his hobbies include kayaking, graphic design, fossil hunting, and pretending to fish while he hangs out on the water.